


Photographs of December

by yuletide_archivist



Category: The Authority
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-12-22
Updated: 2005-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-25 01:18:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1623911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Homeless and hungry (and super-powered), Midnighter decides to get Apollo a Christmas present.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Photographs of December

**Author's Note:**

> Written for JoAnn

 

 

Disclaimer: Don't own Midnighter, Apollo, or the Authority world in general. That'd be pretty neat, though!

\------------

It wasn't as bad as their first winter, at least. They had escaped during winter, making their situation all the worse. Apollo had almost died from the cold and lack of enough light.

Assuming either of them could die, of course.

It was that winter they found solace in each other's arms, as well. Soon, what had been "just for warmth" grew into more. Maybe it was just because they'd both escaped Bennett. That there was nothing more to their attraction then understanding, because no one else in the world left alive could truly understand what they had gone through.

Still, they could no longer imagine life without each other. Though irritating at times, Midnighter found Apollo's cheerful demeanor a light in his perpetually dark world. Though Apollo found Midnighter something of a `downer', he had to admit the straight-man act was fun to poke at. They were still young, after all. Well, they felt young, it was hard to say how old they were with no memory and no knowledge of if they were able to even age anymore.

A few more winters had passed since the first one, neither bothered counting the years anymore. Instead they counted the changes. A streetlight was replaced, a building got renovated, and they went from San Francisco to New York to Seattle to Chicago, maybe in that order maybe not, wherever the crime took them. Life as a vigilante on the street wasn't so bad. It seemed a good a way as any to survive. At least they were doing right by the world.

Then came this winter.

Snow in November and off and on through the passing weeks. Warmer than without, but the sun hadn't been seen in over a month. Nothing wrong for Midnighter, temperature and light coverage were only variables in what one street kid called "his deadly equation of asskicking!". Apollo, however, was solar powered. The sudden unexpected lack of proper sunlight had left him cold, weak, and shivering while waiting for the snow-filled clouds to pass.

Christmas was fast approaching on the horizon.

\----------------

Apollo listened to the news report playing through the window across the alleyway in an old woman's apartment. Something about `El Nino' only making the weather worse, with possible black-outs expected throughout the coming week. This would definitely be no good. The only thing keeping him sane was the fact that the crack-house apartment they'd cleared out last week was still getting heat to the end of the month. Oh, it wasn't as bad as their first winter, but it was close. Apollo had learned enough to reserve his energy, he was able to charge up at dawn with the few bits of sun that peeked out, lay low for the day then assist Midnighter at night. He hated feeling this helpless.

But what he hated more was setting Midnighter loose in the city without his supervision. Midnighter had a way of ... well, it wasn't that he didn't understand social interaction. He just didn't CARE. Still, Apollo could argue little when Midnighter went out to scrounge up some food for them in the daytime. Neither of them knew if starving to death was possible for them (and Apollo far preferred donating any money, food, or usable product they scrounged up to those who were also homeless but not super-powered), but after a few days they got a little sore in the stomach, and they had little desire to actually find out if they could starve.

\-------------

The actual act of getting a hotel room without drawing suspicion to himself was not easy. For one, neither Midnighter nor Apollo had any 'real' clothing to speak of, other than their spandex costumes which was no doubt not normal attire.

In the end Midnighter just found more thugs to beat up and stole their clothing this time. It reeked horribly, but he wouldn't need it for more than a few hours and could ditch them afterwards. He couldn't go with Apollo, bless his heart but sometimes Midnighter thought they deserved to be selfish, every now and then.

The trouble then was to get Apollo TO the hotel without him finding out where they were going. He didn't fly, couldn't just whisk them to the building, and that aside Apollo knew the aerial layout of the city far better than Midnighter anyway. Equally, blindfolding him - although kinky fun - would probably just attract the wrong kind of attention in their area of the neighborhood.

In the end, Midnighter did what he did best and went with the direct approach.

"Hey, get dressed, we're going someplace." He grunted to Apollo as he entered the tiny furnatureless apartment they were inhabiting, sack of food on his arm. Although tired and cold, Apollo still managed to give Midnighter the most radiant smile.

"You telling me to get IN clothes? That has to be a first." He chuckled, always a flirt.

...Well, it was the direct approach with a nice two-hour detour, after which the sun had gone down and they had the cover of night to help them make their way to the hotel. Upon reaching it, Apollo looked at the place with a critical eye, taking in the peeling paint on the walls and the half-burned out sign telling them they were staying at "L u nta" hotel which had a pool, cable, and vacancy. Midnighter watched him for a moment, seeing how he was clearly trying to figure out what crime was being committed here that they were needed to deal with personally, and why Midnighter had to bring the food bag as well.

"...Okay, I give up." Apollo said finally, looking over to Midnighter with the most adorable perplexed expression. Midnighter said nothing, but gestured for Apollo to stay there while he dashed to the second-floor hallway entrance and opened the door, sliding the keycard back into his pocket before gesturing for Apollo to follow him now.

Midnighter was nothing if not a fan of games, and was happy to see how curious Apollo was as he followed his lover into the building and to one of the rooms right by the exit. It was only then that Midnighter handed Apollo the keycard.

Although Apollo briefly entertained the idea that Midnighter had gotten them a room, he knew it couldn't be true despite all evidence pointing to it. He knew Midnighter knew his disapproval of them using boon from raids for selfish reasons, using resources they didn't need. So it was with sneaking suspicion of finding a nuclear weapon plan and mad scientist inside the room that Apollo used the keycard to gain entrance and stepped inside.

When no mad scientist nor nuclear weapon, or even a man with a prostitute presented itself inside the room, Apollo was forced to reconsider whether or not Midnighter knew of his opinion on selfish things. "Midnigh-"

"Hey, would you look at that, a coffee pot." Midnighter said with a grin, sauntering past Apollo to examine the coffee pot that came with the room. He hadn't had coffee since... well, since Stormwatch. Admittedly caffeine had little to no effect on his system, but there was something about the bitter awful taste that he enjoyed. Apollo and Crow Jane always said it was because he liked something that reminded him of himself.

"Midnighter!" Apollo yelled to get his attention, leaning in front of the coffee pot to block Midnighter's way. "How did you do this? You know I want any money we get to go to homeless shelters or food banks or-"

"You're too generous. It's Christmas and we're homeless and hungry." Midnighter growled out softly, reaching a hand out to run through Apollo's hair.

"And super powered." Apollo added, though the way Midnighter's fingers were massaging his scalp was quickly making him melt.

"And super powered." Midnighter agreed, though it didn't change anything.

 


End file.
